Gil, > Sounds like Bill Arnold is our Go To Guy.
Not really. I've been involved with just a few of the things going on with the USPS (CASS and PAVE, specifically, but they're on the shelf right now). It's a whole ball of wax, and constantly changing, so it's a speciality in it's own right. > But until he weighs in, these are the general guidelines I have been given > by a USPS rep out in my neck of the woods. First, if you > have a sizeable mailing you may be required to actually use > bar coding whether you want to or not. Barcoding is one of the basics of USPS automation. The way the USPS see's it, the more work the customer does to help the USPS with automation, the greater the postage discount, so it's a sliding scale with several factors. > Also, even if you run the addresses through an address validation application, > which pretties the address formats up in a way the USPS > likes, you may also need to do a National Change Of Address > process, to reduce the number of invalid target > people/addresses. NCOA is optional, but it helps you to update your address list and increase delivery rates/decrease return postage and related expenses. NCOA work is concentrated among a handful of vendors. Smaller companies batch their work and send it to one of these big houses for processing - at least that's the way it worked last time I checked a few years ago. Again, it changes all the time. > I do not know how severely the USPS will > come down on you for not complying with the NCOA being run > against your mailing database (twice per year I think), but > for smaller mailings (several hundred at a > crack) you may get away with it. They giveth and they taketh in the form of postage discounts. Don't meet their rules = pay the higher postage. > There is so much more to the USPS compliance game that you > really ought to confer with a specialist, or with your local > USPS facility. I found the folks very helpful. I just spotted this link - it might be helpful to someone http://www.usps.com/business/catalogspublications/welcome.htm Bill > Good Luck! > > Gil > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of James E Harvey > > Sent: Friday, March 30, 2007 2:59 PM > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Subject: bar codes for address labels > > > > > > I know diddly squat about this, but have been asked to look > into the > > options. > > > > We mail several catalogs each fall, and we think we can save on > > postage with the use of bar codes? > > > > Never did bar codes, and not sure where to go to find out > what we need > > to do for this to be effective with the U.S. Post Office. > > > > Our mailing list is in-house, nothing special, just the > usual vfp type > > app with normal addresses, no zip code lookups, no address > > confirmations. > > > > Thanks, > > > > Jim > > > > James E Harvey > > Hanover Shoe Farms, Inc. > > M.I.S./Corresponding Officer > > Off: 717-637-8931 > > fax: 717-637-6766 > > email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > [excessive quoting removed by server] _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
